Sustainability

Efficient LED lights, fully shielded so they shine down on paths and stay out of the sky and neighbors’ windows. The light would be warm in color, and it would dim after an evening curfew. This follows guidance from DarkSky International, a group that works to protect the night sky.

Solar panels could sit on canopies over parking or on building roofs. We would keep arrays under 1 megawatt (MW), a measure of how much power they make at their peak. The Scale B drawing below shows possible solar canopies over part of the parking.

Batteries connected to the grid could store power and use it during the busiest hours, so the park draws less from the grid at its peak. Batteries can also keep some power on during an outage. Thermal storage, heat or cold kept in water tanks, could help a building that needs it.

Ground-source (geothermal) heat pumps could heat and cool the buildings using the steady temperature underground. Heat recovery would reuse warmth that machines already make, for example from the food hub’s fridges and freezers, to warm water. Each would be used only where a site study shows it fits.

Plants that grow naturally in this region and handle dry spells need less watering. Native meadows and gardens would take the place of thirsty lawn. Only lawns people use, such as the Great Lawn for music, films and seasonal events, would be watered. Plant choices would draw on DCNR’s Landscaping with Native Plants, Penn State Sea Grant’s Choose Native (2024) and Penn State Extension’s native meadow guidance.

Rain gardens are planted low spots that let rain from roofs and paths soak slowly into the ground. The Scale A test fit shows a rain garden and stormwater basin. A stormwater wetland is a pond with a boardwalk that holds rain running off hard surfaces, as the Scale B test fit shows. Both would follow the Stormwater Best Management Practices Manual from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP).

Free drinking water and bottle refill stations at every restroom and plaza, in place of bottled water.

Optional and seasonal. It could be flow-through (fresh water used once) or recirculating (filtered and reused; the CDC’s Model Aquatic Health Code recommends a second disinfection step, such as UV light). Either way it needs a Pennsylvania Department of Health public bathing place permit (opens in a new tab). Test-fit size, not a design: about 2,500–5,000 sq ft plus an equipment room of about 200–400 sq ft.

Durable, repairable materials, sourced locally where we can. We would repair before replacing. Before buying anything, we would add up its full cost over its life: the price to buy it, plus the energy, water, repairs and replacement it will need.

Easy-care play equipment from Scale A. A few low-maintenance rides, chosen for reliability, only from Scale B, after a small pilot meets its targets.

We would look first at existing or under-used places. Our research suggests exploring small pilot pieces in existing city parks. The main location is being finalized, and no landowner has confirmed a site in writing.

Every 100 parking spaces takes about three-quarters of an acre (a planning assumption). Shared parking, buses and trails would shrink that. The Scale B test fit puts about 190 of its spaces on grass pavers, a grid that lets grass grow through, for overflow days.